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7 Simple Tips for Selling Items for Fast at Top Price on Craigslist

You probably already know Craigslist is an awesome tool for selling your stuff, but there are tricks you can use to get your stuff sold faster and for a better price. Below are 7 tips I use to get stuff sold on Craigslist as quickly as possible for the price I want.

Pictures the Right Way

This is far and away the most important factor in determining whether your ad gets any attention. The more high quality pictures you have, the more likely your item sells fast and for a good price.

In fact, if you do not intend to take the time to post photos, do not bother posting anything on Craigslist. Your ad will be ignored.

You want to take the highest quality images you can get, and take several pictures. Photographs of not only a wide view of the entire item, but close-up shots of brand name, serial numbers, any existing damage, and key product features. Make sure to use good lighting, and make sure there is not a bunch of stuff cluttering the picture surrounding your item.

Headlines that Sell

Headlines that work well on Craigslist may not necessarily be the best headlines in a “traditional” marketing sense. You do not want to use sales-type language in the headline. Instead, you want to simply provide an accurate description of the item including make, model, and key feature.

Do not use all Caps, but capitalize the first letter of each word in the headline. Most importantly, don’t ask a question in your headline, as it makes you look like a spammer. For example, check out the wrong headline and the right headline to sell a juicer on Craigslist:

DO YOU WANT A GREAT JUICER AT A DISCOUNT? (This is a terrible Craigslist headline because it asks a question, is in all caps, and does not describe the juicer being sold)

Breville 800JEXL Centrifugal Juicer – 13000 RPM (This is a better Craigslist headline because it is descriptive of the item being sold, and is not using spammy sales language)

Deadlines Create Urgency

Use a deadline in the description for the item to create urgency. Ideally, set a 3 to 5 day deadline by stating something like, “Must pickup by Saturday” or “Item must be gone by Friday at noon.”

This will trigger a prospective buyer into making a quick decision, but using a 3 to 5 day deadline as opposed to a 1 to 2 day deadline makes you appear less desperate to sell.

Disclose Damage to Build Credibility

Be honest and up front about any damage to the item being sold. First, being honest in the description and including photos of any damage will assure the prospective buyer that you are not trying to rip anyone off.

Second, disclosing damage up front will reduce the likelihood of the buyer negotiating based on the damage, as the damage was built into the price you set in the listing.

Finally, you do not waste your time with people coming to see the item and then leaving due to unexpected damage to the item.

Setting the Right Price

Craigslist market value is the common value an item lists for on Craigslist. You want to set your price at about 90% of the Craigslist market value for your item, and then be prepared to accept 80%.

Setting the price slightly below what others are asking for your item on Craigslist will create a flood of initial interest in your listing.

Being willing to accept 80% will help you close the deal, as everyone on Craigslist wants to get a deal. They are on Craigslist to save money. Give them want they want by negotiating down to 80% of Craigslist market value if they ask to negotiate.

Descriptions that Work

You need to be specific in the description to sell the item. Describe in detail the product make, model, damage, and features. Also make sure to provide information as to how you want people to respond to your ad, whether it be a phone call, text or email. Include a deadline in the description, and state that your price is negotiable.

Finally, there is no need to used spammy sales language in the description. You do not want to come off as a salesperson in your description.

Fast Follow-Up

Craigslist is full of spammers and scammers, so everything you do with your listing must reassure a prospective buyer.

Buyers do not want to waste their time following up on an item, driving to see an item, only to discover the ad was not what it seemed. Once you get someone interested in your item, respond to their contact quickly. This will reassure the prospective buyer that you are a real person and have been honest in your listing.

Craigslist is a great resource for quickly getting your hands on a lump sum of cash, and is a great way to kickstarting an emergency savings account or IRA account.

There are right ways and wrong ways to sells your stuff on Craigslist, and if you follow the tricks here you will get fast sales and great prices for your listings.